After viewing a brief video on catapults students will use this lesson to actively engage in applying the scientific method. By working through this inquiry activity students need to think independently and work collaboratively with a group in order to achieve a common goal of launching the marshmallow. Students will use what they learn in this activity to move through the design phase of our project-based lesson "How to build a better catapult". By reflecting back on the scientific method as they move into their design journals, and mathematical discussions about outcomes and observations students will have a clear understanding on how to reflect and further question how to improve their catapult design. The culmination of this project will result in public demonstrations and commercials indicating the 'good' and 'bad' of each groups catapult design, while allowing groups to self-assess how well they have accomplished the goal and addressed "How can we build the best catapult?".
PROJECT DESIGN: STUDENT LEARNING GUIDE
Project: How to build a better catapult
Driving Question: How can we build the best catapult?
Final Product(s) Presentations, Performances, Products and/or Services
Learning Outcomes/Targets knowledge, understanding & success skills neededby students to successfully complete products
Checkpoints/Formative Assessments to check for learning and ensurestudents are on track
Instructional Strategies for All Learners provided by teacher, other staff, experts; includes scaffolds, materials, lessons aligned to learning outcomes and formative assessments
(individual)
Worksheet on Scientific Method
Knowledge of the parts of the scientific method
Understanding of how to apply step of the scientific method to a question
Understanding how to revise the scientific method to work toward a different result - this is working towards the next part of the larger lesson
An ‘exit ticket’ at the end of the lesson will be used to check for understanding of parts of the scientific method (i.e. write a hypothesis for ‘what makes a projectile launch the furthest?’).
Dialogue with questions and answers between myself and students will also help gauge understanding.
Students will be given an entry event in the form of an inquiry activity where they need to design a catapult to to launch a marshmallow. Before they create the catapult they will discuss with their group how they think a catapult works (background knowledge) and create a hypothesis as to what setup might work best. They will then test their hypothesis - observe their outcome, form conclusion, and determine what they can do to improve their experiment (revise). At the end of their inquiry I will discuss each set of the scientific method that they worked through and the different results they got as well as why they believe their results varied.
After viewing a brief video on catapults students will use this lesson to actively engage in applying the scientific method. By working through this inquiry activity students need to think independently and work collaboratively with a group in order to achieve a common goal of launching the marshmallow. Students will use what they learn in this activity to move through the design phase of our project-based lesson "How to build a better catapult". By reflecting back on the scientific method as they move into their design journals, and mathematical discussions about outcomes and observations students will have a clear understanding on how to reflect and further question how to improve their catapult design. The culmination of this project will result in public demonstrations and commercials indicating the 'good' and 'bad' of each groups catapult design, while allowing groups to self-assess how well they have accomplished the goal and addressed "How can we build the best catapult?".
Presentations, Performances, Products and/or Services
knowledge, understanding & success skills neededby students to successfully complete products
to check for learning and ensurestudents are on track
provided by teacher, other staff, experts; includes scaffolds, materials, lessons aligned to learning outcomes and formative assessments
Worksheet on Scientific Method
Dialogue with questions and answers between myself and students will also help gauge understanding.